A new monitoring station for debris flows in the European Alps: first observations in the Gadria basin

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Abstract

Debris-flow monitoring in instrumented areas is an invaluable way to gather field data that may improve the understanding of these hazardous phenomena. A new experimental site has been equipped in the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano (Eastern Alps, Italy) for both monitoring purposes and testing early warning systems. The study site (Gadria basin) is a 6.3 km(2) catchment subjected to frequent debris flows. The monitoring system in the Gadria basin consists of rain gauges, radar sensors, geophones, video cameras, piezometers and soil moisture probes. Transmission of data and alerts from the instruments exploits in part radio technology. The paper presents the data gathered during the first three years of activity, with two debris-flow events recorded at the station varying in magnitude and characteristics, and discusses the perspectives of debris-flow monitoring and related research.